Cynthia Shaw (Mid-Columbia Voices, Aug. 14) and I want to see the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center built. That is why I joined the Reach Board a year ago. However, Shaw believes that questions about the success of the Reach from the Richland City Council are inappropriate because of the deft guidance of CEO Kimberly Camp and the success of museums in other locales.

The Reach has not been on a straight path forward over many years. It now seems to be moving ahead in west Columbia Park, with another $15 million still to be raised. As the ultimate guarantor of the Reach, the city council should be asking important questions. When I was a councilman in a neighboring community for a dozen years, I didn't always ask the tough questions related to projects I cared about most and took for granted that projects would be successful because of the people involved or the projects in question.

I am now an ex-councilman who has learned some valuable lessons. Bravo to those members of the city council and the community who are raising the important questions. Their reward will be the ultimate success of the Reach project, which can be a tourism, scientific and cultural asset for our entire region.

THOMAS MOAK, Kennewick